


Don’t Yeet My Bread

by ichiro51



Category: Dreamcatcher - Fandom, NCT
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25609945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ichiro51/pseuds/ichiro51
Summary: Taeyong is trying to escape his life from Future- a criminal organization his adoptive mother runs. He gets caught up with the son of government spies and a kidnapping case.
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue: 

Dong Sicheng was a simple student. He always got good grades, and was fairly popular. Well, not fairly, he was popular. Everyone adored him. You just couldn’t help but smile whenever you saw his own bright smiling face. And yet, he rejected all of it. All the love, all the praise. He always kept a cynical mindset and promised himself he would never trust. There was a thick veil around him, one that no one could ever seem to get through. Smart and athletic, he was any girl’s dream. Though he wished he could disappear. He was the captain of the soccer team, but hated the attention. If you asked someone what his personality was, they would reply, “smart, athletic, handsome, always smiling, kindest person I know.” But if you asked him, he would plaster a fake smile and shrug. Though no one knew it, Dong Sicheng was a mystery. No one knew who he really was, he wasn’t sure he knew who he really was. So when he disappeared one day, and the rumor mill started up again, everyone began to ask one another, “Who is Dong Sicheng?”


	2. Jaemin

I longed for the last bell, but time seemed to slow down the more I stared at the clock. I tried my best to peel my eyes away from it, but it held my eyes in a trance, bound by its spell. I just wanted another bland day of school to be over. Well, I guess I couldn't exactly call this day bland. All the gossips in our school went overboard with the rumors about a missing student. Dong Sicheng. One of the most popular kids in the school. Everyone loved him, they all admired him. I didn’t. I saw him as cold, hard, and rude. Others saw him as a charismatic and charming leader. I don’t know how. All the signs were there, but no one bothered to put the pieces together. Except for me, of course. He was the captain of the soccer team, the one sport I happened to participate in, but hated every minute. Sure, I enjoyed the sport of soccer, but even our coach was under Sicheng’s spell. Like I was with the clock, for example. Everyone glowered when he praised them, and promised to do better when he saw a flaw. I ignored him, and whenever he told me to fix something about my game, I did the opposite. I wanted to see if he noticed. He never did. I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something going on in his life. Something different than his true personality. I tried to inform others about this, but they denied it. Every time I mention it, I got cut off and lectured about his amazing qualities. 

Ring! Ring!

I hid a smile and breathed a sigh of relief as I slung my backpack over my shoulder. I walked out of the classroom as I do every day, and went through the motions like a normal school day. When I walked outside, the trees greeted me with an eerie sense, the trees bare, and the sky gray. Wispy clouds flew over my head blowing large gusts of cool, autumn wind onto my face. I took in the sensation, as a large leaf smacked me in the face, replacing the cold wind. I waved my arms near my face, to try to sweep the leaf away. The wind howled even louder, as to laugh at me. I tried to stop my face from turning red, but wasn't successful. What is wrong with me? I stopped walking as I became more and more dizzy, panting hard as I leaned over, somehow exhausted. Why had the weather decided to make a fool of me? I slowly regained my balance, and boarded the school bus, somehow managing to avoid the confused looks directed towards me. 

I slumped down in my seat, my breathing becoming heavier and heavier. Nothing I tried to do could seem to stop it. My vision became blurry, and for a moment I blacked out. When I opened my eyes a few moments later, my phone started aggressively ringing. I let it ring and ignored it, as the number didn’t seem familiar. Once the ringing stopped, I allowed my body to take control, and my head hit the window as my body slumped into the seat like a liquid. I couldn’t think right, my mind was spinning with words- random words- running throughout my brain. I tried to make sense of it all, but my phone rang again. I couldn’t tell if it was the same number, but I declined it. Right after I declined it, however, the same number called me. I debated throwing my phone out the window for a moment, before declining the number again. When the third time came around, I turned my phone off completely, and closed my eyes, frustrated, but not having any power over myself. I drowsily sat there as the usual noise on my bus immediately silenced, and I heard a voice speak in my head saying, Don’t ignore me, Jaemin, I know you know who I really am.

At this I jumped up, grasping for breath. Was that real? And why did I recognize the voice?

It’s me, Jaemin. The one who would tell you to run faster, to which you would respond by running even slower. Or, when I told you to guard someone, and you would walk farther away from them.

The voice in my head was growing louder. 

Was I imagining this? And, he noticed? Wait, who noticed? As my mind tried to figure out who I had referenced, my mind blanked, and a familiar face filled the empty space. 

Dong Sicheng.


	3. Taeyong

“Taeyong!” A strong voice called out. 

I inwardly groaned at the familiar voice. 

“What do you want, Nayeon?” 

I trudged towards where Nayeon’s voice led me to see her with her hands placed on her hips. 

“‘What do you want, Nayeon’? That’s all I get? No, ‘Hello Nayeon, how was your day?’” 

I rolled my eyes. “Please stop trying to act like you’re my mom or something.”

“Taeyong! I am your mother.”

I breathed a frustrated sigh. “That’s never going to work on me, Nayeon. You will never be my mom.”

She sighed, a weary look passing over her face. “Oh, Taeyong. I may not be the woman who birthed you, but I am the one who took care of you when no one wanted you. Not even your real parents,” her eyes narrowed at me, in a threatening manner as she spoke what had to be her go to phrase.

“I get it, Nayeon. You pretend to care for me so I can work for you-”

“Why, I would never-”

“Yes, you would. Now, what was it that you wanted?”

“Why? Do you have somewhere you’re needed?”

I smirked. “No, of course not.”

Her bright eyes took on a serious look as she spoke her next words. “We got Dong Sicheng. Good work, Taeyong.” 

She then smiled at me, a look that made my stomach turn. Nayeon only smiles when she gets her way. I knew she wasn’t proud of me. She wasn’t proud of anyone except for herself. My stomach turned yet again at the thought of Sicheng. Knowing that I was responsible for the article on the front page of the newspaper, and the number one topic for our school’s gossip mill. 

“Nayeon, there’s something wrong with the new member you brought in earlier,” Bora, Nayeon’s assistant urgently said, as she entered the room.

Nayeon sighed. “Fine, I’ll be there. Taeyong, once I get this sorted out, I’ll need you to show Sicheng around.” 

Without saying another word, Nayeon swiftly left the room. Bora’s worried eyes followed Nayeon, and then rested on me. 

“The new member. Dong Sicheng. Don’t you know him? He’s the reason you’re attending the local high school, right?” Bora asked me.

I wished I could trap her smooth, sweet voice in my head and replay it forever. The more I looked at her soft dark hair and menacing eyes, the more I seemed to appreciate her. 

“Sicheng? Yeah, I know him. And, yeah, he’s the reason I’m going to the school.”

“Are you going to drop out now that he’s here?”

My gaze dropped to the floor. I wished I didn’t have to attend school, just so I could hang around head quarters, where Bora always was. But another part of me enjoyed school. The escape it gave me from the life I lived at the headquarters. 

“No. He will remain in school, and so will I.”

“That’s a shame,” the sorrow in her eyes became even more apparent, and my heart skipped a beat. 

“I- I know,” I couldn’t manage to look at her, and continued to stare at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing.

“Why is Future so interested in him?”

My eyes widened at Bora’s question. At Future, we were trained to never question authority- or, Nayeon. Nayeon is known as the self proclaimed leader of Future, which made me the most hated person at Future. I never belonged there anyway.

“You know you shouldn’t ask that question, Bora.” I responded, even though I longed for an answer to the same question.

“Since when did you care?” The playful spark returned to Bora’s eyes as she spoke the mischievous words. This forced a smirk to rest itself on my face. 

Bora frowned, and I gave her a confused look. What had I done wrong? 

“Um, well, I better go. It was nice to talk to you, Taeyong.” 

I watched her leave the room in awe, even though I made sure my face didn’t show it and a bored look was planted on my face, which happened to be a mistake. Bora glanced back at me and her eyes instantly widened. She shook her head and hastily made her exit from the room. I shook my head, frustrated at myself. I had let my guarded instincts take over again. I had always wished Nayeon had never left an impression on me, but I couldn’t seem to shake off all she trained me to be.

I reluctantly made my way back to my room, where I found Nayeon. She was rearranging the room and adding another bed into the already small room. My mouth longed to ask her what it was all about, but inside I already knew the answer I had always dreaded.

“Our new member, Dong Sicheng, will be staying with you.” 

“But, he knows me from school. Couldn’t he tell the rest of the school-”

My worried excuse was cut off by a menacing laugh from Nayeon. Her dark icy eyes were directed at me, in a position that someone could classify as a glare. To me, the look was a normal part of my day. I don’t think Nayeon’s eyes could do anything else but glare. All in all, Nayeon could seem like a menacing figure to some, but I wasn’t fazed. I continued to have my head held high to prove that Nayeon didn’t scare me. She used to tell me that she was proud of the fact that everyone was intimidated by me. I wished Nayeon was also intimidated by me. But disappointingly, nothing scared Nayeon. Surprisingly not even her own reflection.

“Oh, Taeyong. Don’t worry about the details. Just keep doing what I have instructed, and we won’t have a problem, now will we?”

“We might,” I snarkily replied, which earned me a disapproving look from Nayeon. 

I tried to hide a smile at the sight of an upset Nayeon, which was a rare sight, unless of course, she was talking to me. I tended to annoy Nayeon most of the time, in the hopes that she would give up on me. She never did. Nayeon may not be loyal, but she stuck to her word. Always. That was the only thing about Nayeon that frightened me. Even though I loved to annoy her, I never took it too far. 

“Now, I expect you to make him feel welcome…” 

“I know, I know. Now, shouldn’t you be working on all those details you mentioned earlier?”

Nayeon plastered a fake look of shock on her face, forced a laugh and walked out of my room. 

Of course I knew of the so-called ‘details.’ I had spent my entire life under the guardianship of Nayeon. And every single day I roamed the halls of Future, eavesdropping on any conversation I could, hoping to find a way out of this place. I learned about many hidden things about Future. Including their brainwashing and memory erasing system. I wasn’t able to learn much about it, other than the fact that Future was erasing the past memories of their new members. I assumed they would do the same with Sicheng. They would have to keep some of his memories, however. The ones about school. They would erase ones about his past, me, and his family. It was kind of sad to think about that. Future stripped the members from everything about their past. Future would be their past, their present, and their future, of course. 

When I was younger, I often asked Nayeon how Future got its name. I never liked the name. It seemed immature and cocky. Nayeon would always respond with a frown, saying that she named it. I would then mutter an insincere apology and repeat my question. She then would briefly explain some corny phrase about Future being the future. Even I could come up with something better than that, but I never told her that, of course.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and who should walk in, but the mystery himself, Dong Sicheng.


	4. Jaemin

Once I arrived at my house from the bus, I tried to relax in order for the strange thoughts of Sicheng actually talking in my mind, to leave. When that didn’t work, I tried blasting music in my ear, which just gave me a headache. I then decided to focus on my homework, but Sicheng’s pained voice kept haunting me. I couldn’t get it out of my head. His words repeated eternally in my brain, and when I closed my eyes to focus, the only thing I could focus on was an image of Sicheng. What did he want from me? I was determined that it was only a voice in my head made up by my wild imagination, not Sicheng himself. It just wasn’t possible. I shot down every argument my brain offered. I tried to rely on science and logic, but even they couldn’t figure out my dilemma. It sounded so real, like it was actually someone speaking to me. At first I had thought someone on the bus was talking to me, but had looked like a fool when I spun around, confused. 

Maybe I was paranoid. Maybe it was the fact that Sicheng had gone missing all of a sudden, or a result of the rumors that had been spread. Whatever it was, it couldn’t have really been Sicheng speaking to me. Why was I second guessing myself? Why couldn’t I stop with all the questions and focus on my work? Once I stopped all the questions my brain asked me, my previous headache returned to me. It was something I couldn’t control. I couldn’t think straight. All my thoughts were being tossed and turned around in my head. I didn’t know what I was thinking, or if I was thinking anything. I badly wished the whole nightmare would go away, but it never did. The whole night I was like a zombie, but no one else seemed to notice. I could barely register what I was doing, and ended up falling asleep at 7 while trying to do my homework. 

The next morning I woke up at 5:00am, and couldn’t fall back asleep. I felt wide awake, but my red eyes seemed to disagree. I attempted to finish my homework, before completely giving up. I had no idea what was wrong. I usually finished all my work before I ate dinner, but this time I had no interest in getting it done. What was the point if I couldn’t think straight? 

Several times while I was sleeping, I thought I heard Sicheng’s voice speak in my head again, but my mind classified it as a dream. Or, that’s at least what I thought. It had seemed too real to be a dream, but isn’t that what most people say about dreams? Was that what I was doing on the bus? Daydreaming? Had I been imagining it all this time? How would that explain my zombie likeness and cloudy mind? I started to forget more and more things, only to remember them about an hour later. It was a feeling I had never felt before. It was as if someone was trying to remove my memories, but my mind was fighting it. And, just as I thought that, darkness enveloped me.


	5. Taeyong

As I showed Sicheng around the Future headquarters, I couldn’t help but feel that they had already altered his memories. He didn’t exactly seem to accept all that had happened, but he went along with it. Sometimes I would notice that the side effects of the memory alteration process would take place. Another thing I heard from eavesdropping. Future really needed to update their security. Sure, I was basically allowed to do anything because I was the adopted son of the leader of Future, but anyone could of heard what I did. 

Usually when someone has had their memories altered, they seem to not be able to think right. They’re also in a hazy phase, where you can’t tell if they’re half asleep or just not paying attention to anything around them. Even though Sicheng did show signs of this, he had seemed to fight it somehow. I could tell that he must really be special if he could fight the memory alteration process. I honestly couldn’t figure out what memories had been removed, and which ones hadn’t. He certainly did remember me, but acted guarded and cold towards me, but it wasn’t until it was time for dinner before I realized what he knew.

“I know it was you,” he said, his eyes glaring at me, before walking away. 

I just stood there, in awe. Not able to move or speak. Know? Could he be talking about who kidnapped him? Well, I didn’t exactly kidnap him… I inwardly groaned. What was I doing? How come I could never find a way out of Future? Instead, I was forced to bring others here against their will. And, obviously Sicheng had found some way around the memory alteration process. 

“Taeyong? Are you alright?” I heard a soft voice call out. 

My previous thoughts instantly vanished at the sound of Bora’s voice. My heart melted at the sight of the slight playful frown on her face as she looked at me. I forced myself to relax and plastered a smile onto my face.

“Hey, Bora.”

“Oh, don’t smirk at me like that,” Bora said, placing her hands on her hips.

Her words took a moment for me to recognize their meaning. “What smirk?”

At this she rolled her eyes at me, frustrated. “You confuse me, Taeyong.”

She then smiled at me, a smile that seemed forced, and walked away to her group of friends. I confused her? What did she mean by that? My eyes continued to follow Bora as she laughed and talked with her friends. Envy filled me as my eyes continued to be fixed on her. I never regretted not being social, but I badly wanted to join her. Instead, I walked back to my room as I do every day, and ate in silence. I would take silence over the loud chatter of the Future members any day, but I would never get bored of Bora’s voice. I wished I had the courage to join her, but I guess I would have to be fine with the silence and privacy I had in my room. Before Sicheng came of course. 

As I was preparing for the next day, Nayeon came into my room to speak to me once again.

“Is Sicheng going to stay here tomorrow? Or will I not have to go to school?” I asked before Nayeon could get her words out, which seemed to take her by surprise.

“Sicheng will continue to attend school, along with you,” she responded calmly.

“But, the whole school thinks he went missing. It’s not like you can alter a whole school’s memory,” I replied snarkily, before instantly regretting my words, but taking pains not to show it.

Nayeon, however, didn’t try as hard, as I saw her eyes widen for a split second. 

“Alright, Taeyong, what do you know?”

To this I responded with a shrug. 

She battled my shrug with a frustrated sigh.  
“Taeyong…” she wearily began. “Fine, if you don’t want to tell me, I won’t make you,” her mood instantly changed as she began to smile. “And don’t worry about Sicheng. By tomorrow morning, the headline on the front page of the newspaper will be ‘Dong Sicheng, missing high schooler, found.’” 

That was her last words before she exited my room. Was that what she had wanted to speak to me about? I wasn’t surprised that Nayeon had found her way onto the front page of the newspaper. She always talked about all the influential people she was in daily contact with. Now the whole school would ask Sicheng about his alleged kidnapping. What would he say? Would he mention me? I’m sure Nayeon made some sort of threat to him about mentioning Future or me at school. Only Sicheng knew the right answer, but he was forced to spread a lie. For his sake, and for mine. I knew Sicheng would resent me, but I didn’t care. Even though I was sharing a room with him, I could still manage to ignore him. Yet, a part of me always set off alarms in my head whenever he glared at me. How I desperately wished I could somehow leave Future. I wouldn’t have anywhere to go, so maybe the plan was brash, but I would still be free. 

As I finished my thoughts to myself, Nayeon barged into my room holding a syringe. I tried as hard as I could to not look surprised, but would forever be haunted by the wide eyed, grim look Nayeon had on her face as she intruded into my room. 

She breathed, as if she was trying to calm herself. “Listen, Taeyong, I will ask you one more time, what do you know?”

I felt trapped. I had a feeling I knew what the syringe was, but I didn’t want to test Nayeon. I just had to fake it as usual.

“I don’t know much, Nayeon. I just heard a few things here and there about you erasing and altering memories.” 

Well, that wasn’t exactly a lie.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the answer Nayeon was looking for, as she laughed a menacing laugh and gave me a look of pity.

“I knew I trained you well. Too well.” 

She gave me a sad smile before disappearing. I heard a noise behind me, and turned around to see Nayeon injecting the syringe into my arm. As I tried to process all the thoughts flocking into my mind, I collapsed. 

When I woke up, I was in Nayeon’s office, with only Nayeon in the room with me.

“I’m sorry, Taeyong, I really am. But, on the other hand, I need to know what you know. As you know, we… rearrange the memories of our new members. But, something… happened with Sicheng’s process… Do you happen to know anything about it?” Nayeon asked me, grinning wickedly. 

I tried to shut my mouth, but it opened on its own, and the words came pouring out. 

“He knows it was me. Who kidnapped him. I don’t know how, but he knows the truth,” I said as calmly as possible. 

Even though I couldn’t control the words coming out of my mouth, I could control the way I said them. 

“How did you find out about the mind alteration process?”

“I heard some of the scientists talking once.”

Nayeon frowned at me. “That’s all?”

“Kind of.”

I inwardly groaned at myself. I know my words were uncontrollable thanks to Nayeon’s serum that made me tell the truth. Surprisingly, it wasn’t making me say a lot. The bare minimum of the truth, I suppose. 

Nayeon sighed again, not bothering to hide her displeasure with me. It made me want to smirk.  
Nayeon’s frustration with me was just wasting my time here, which I was glad for, of course. 

“Fine, Taeyong. Have it your way. Oh, and remember, you will be riding Sicheng’s bus to and from school.”

“Won’t some of the students get suspicious because of that?”

“You’re a smart boy. You’ll find a way out of it,” Nayeon responded with a smirk. 

You got that right, Nayeon. I’ll find a way out of Future sooner or later, I thought.


	6. Jaemin

By the time my mind was finally cleared, I was already on the bus. How had I gotten on the bus? I felt like I was asleep, and couldn’t awake for a few hours, until I ended up on the bus. I saw the clear blue sky and the rising sun, and put the pieces together that I was on the morning bus. I badly wished I knew what was going on with me, but my mind couldn’t come up with an answer. I felt groggy and hazy. My eyes would close on their own and my mind would begin to drift away, but something in my brain would finally notice it, and I would jerk back to my uncomfortable upright position on the bus. I felt as though my mind was asleep, and it didn’t want to awaken.

The bus finally arrived at the school, and I tried to focus on the day of school in front of me. I drowsily trudged toward my class, also happening to literally run into my friend on the way. 

“Jaemin? You good man?” 

I looked into Jeno’s worried eyes, but a response to his question couldn’t register in my mind. Instead I shrugged and stalked over to my class, just wanting to sit down. 

“Jaemin? What’s going on?” 

Jeno looked for a response once again, but when he didn’t receive one, he curiously ran off. I gave him a confused look, to which he responded with one of pity. Did he think something was wrong with me? Where was he going? I wanted to follow him, but my knees suddenly became weak and I knew my longing to sit was for a good reason. I breathed a sigh of relief once I collapsed in my seat. My classmate next to me, Taeyong, gave me a weird look, but I was used to that from him, and ignored him as part of my daily routine. 

I almost jumped up from my seat, when I saw the face of Dong Sicheng staring at me. My legs, however, jerked up, hitting the desk. Taeyong looked at me in surprise, and slowly turned to Sicheng, as to analyze him and what he wanted with me. I tried to tear my eyes away from Sicheng, but I couldn’t. Those dark, cold, eyes peering into mine. Several students came up to Sicheng hastily to ask him if he was okay, or what happened. He answered each worried question with his usual fake smile. Sicheng must have been an amazing actor, because he managed to fool everyone. Not me of course. Or, Taeyong, surprisingly. Taeyong would cautiously watch Sicheng as he answered the questions. Then, Sicheng would occasionally glare at him. Was I imagining this? Was Sicheng showing his true colors? Was I not thinking straight again? For once in my life I wished I couldn’t think. My brain was against me for the first time, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. 

For once I couldn’t focus in school. My eyes darted all around the classroom, as if trying to find an escape. Whether it was from my mind or school, I couldn’t tell. All I knew was that I was determined to find a way out.  
By the time it was time for lunch, I was positive something was, indeed, wrong with me. I hadn’t been able to focus in class, my teachers had asked me if I was sick. My brain tried to agree with them, that maybe there was a chance that I was sick. I didn’t think so, though. That happened to be the only thought that my mind decided to process. Everything else was a blur. The only thing I could remember were those odd interactions between Sicheng and Taeyong, and my mind was clouded with warning signs and internal alarms whenever they were together. To give myself the break I needed, I wearily headed over to the bathroom to try to get my mind to relax and start working again. It was like my feet were moving on their own, without anyone telling them where to go.

When I finally got to the bathroom, I locked myself in a stall and slumped down and immediately closed my eyes. I would have fallen asleep there if I wasn’t interrupted by an aggressive slamming of the door. I heard a sigh, and my head perked up, for I was sure I recognized that voice. It was Sicheng. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised. I held my breath, somehow afraid of why he was here. Even though I couldn’t see him, I could sense the frustration as Sicheng threw his bag on to the floor, and once again sighed. I could picture the anger in his dark, icy eyes.

I was struck with an odd feeling as I thought about this. Suddenly, memories of the school day rushed into me, and filled my brain. My brain was suddenly overloaded with thoughts, memories, and anything else I could think of. Think. That was it, it had to be. I had gone to the bathroom to find an escape from my own mind, but it was as though my mind had finally caught up with me. I started silently panting, but it wasn’t the wearily, tired panting I had been used to. Instead, my brain was being filled with everything I couldn’t have seemed to grasp earlier. The feeling didn’t last for long, for it was interrupted by another slam of the door.

“Sicheng, what are you doing?” inquired an angry voice.

I almost released a small gasp as my brain began to process who the voice was. 

“What? I’m not allowed to even go to the bathroom without you following me around like a bodyguard, Taeyong?” sneered Sicheng. 

Taeyong. Of course. I knew there was something odd between those two. I guess my mind hadn’t totally failed me. 

Taeyong snicked. “It’s not my choice.”

“Then why don’t you leave me alone?” Sicheng yelled, losing his temper.

I could just imagine the smirk forming on Taeyong’s face. 

“Oh, what’s this? Is Dong Sicheng finally showing his true colors?” 

“If you really didn’t want to do this, you wouldn't.” 

What was that supposed to mean? Even though I found it cryptic, I could tell Taeyong understood him by the sharp intake of breath he took. Then, silence came upon the room, and my stomach turned as fear took over. There was no way they knew I was here, right?

“Is there someone in here?” Taeyong asked, confirming my fear. 

“Probably.”

I could just imagine Sicheng speaking this with a smirk. Though he never smirked to mask up his real self, I could always imagine what it looked like. And it had always seemed to fit Sicheng in my mind. 

“Who?” Taeyong whispered, as if I- or whoever he thought was in the bathroom- couldn’t hear him. 

“What do you mean who? It could literally be anyone.”

It’s you, right, Jaemin? A voice spoke into my head. My brain had now decided that it was a normal thing, but I couldn’t figure out how I could respond. I tried to project a yes in my brain, but I still couldn’t figure out how Sicheng did it.

A moment later I heard laughter coming from inside my head. Sicheng’s laughter. I knew it. I thought I saw you run in here. Don’t say anything or move at all. Taeyong will notice. 

I guess Sicheng was back to being cryptic. Wait, had Sicheng heard me? You can hear me? I tried to call out inside my head. 

Yes. But quiet it down. You just screamed in my head. 

Sorry, I muttered sheepishly.

I could talk in Sicheng’s head? My brain tried to think of a way that was scientifically possible, but was at a loss. I didn’t even pick up the rest of Taeyong and Sicheng’s conversation, because I was too enveloped in my current predicament. 

I was brought back to earth by yet another door slam. 

“Alright, he’s gone, Jaemin,” Sicheng said. 

I came out of the stall, desperately wanting to let all my questions out, but Sicheng smiled a fake smile at me, and left the bathroom. 

Where are you going? I desperately called out to him.  
To the cafeteria. 

I tried not to roll my eyes at the snarky response. 

Sicheng was finally showing me his real self, and he had known that I had noticed. Maybe he was more observant than I had thought. 

I headed to the cafeteria, with a confident grin. I knew my friends would ask questions, but I was in no mood to answer them, so acting like everything was fine was the best way to go. As I had expected, my friends Renjun and Jeno both swarmed me with questions right as I stepped foot in the cafeteria. I tried to lead them to our usual table, not wanting us to gain any attention, especially from Sicheng or Taeyong. Everything had seemed to be going wrong for me that day, because as I looked up I saw Taeyong’s suspicious eyes peering into my own. I quickly looked away as I finally got my friends to sit down. 

“Where have you been?” Renjun asked, for the third time.

I shrugged. “Just the bathroom.”

Renjun raised his eyebrows at my response. He then worriedly glanced at Jeno, who’s eyes were directed at Sicheng. At this, Sicheng instantly got up and headed towards me.

“Act natural,” I heard in my head. 

I froze, not knowing what to expect.

“Look behind me.”

I wanted to get up and run, and leave all of whatever was happening to me behind, but my curiosity got the best of me as I slowly turned to see Taeyong slowly making his way across the cafeteria towards Sicheng.  
Why does he keep following you? I asked, still oblivious to how I had been able to talk to Sicheng in my head. I had been starting to feel lightheaded, however. 

“Shh. Don’t talk to me like this anymore. Taeyong will be able to hear.”

I took that as a sign that I could also talk to Taeyong in my head, and that he could talk back, like Sicheng.

“I knew there was something wrong with you,” Renjun muttered.

“What?” I asked breaking my stare away from Taeyong and Sicheng, who were both making their way over to my table. 

Before Renjun had time to respond, Sicheng finally ended up at our table.

“Hey, Jaemin,” he greeted me, with a fake smile, as if nothing was wrong. 

“Oh, um, Sicheng, hey.”

Renjun and Jeno both gave me confused looks as I tried to think of a lie in my head.

“What’s Sicheng doing here?” Jeno whispered to me.

“He’s here to, uh-”

“Discuss soccer,” Sicheng finished for me. 

I smiled blankly at Renjun and Jeno, and they seemed to have bought it. Probably because Sicheng was the one who was saying it. Anyone would believe any lie, no matter how ridiculous, if Sicheng was the one telling it. 

“I need to talk to you about our next game, Jaemin,” Sicheng lied. 

I hesitantly got up, and searched the cafeteria for Taeyong. I almost yelled in surprise when I saw him right in front of me.

“What are you doing here, Taeyong?” Sicheng asked, trying hard not to glare at him. 

Taeyong smirked at Sicheng’s failure to keep his anger contained. Sicheng narrowed his eyes at Taeyong, apparently not caring about what others thought, in order to release his frustration at Taeyong. 

“Actually, Taeyong, Sicheng and I were just about to talk about the soccer game-”

“That’s alright. I’ll stay,” Taeyong continued to smirk at Sicheng. 

“But-” 

“It’s ok, Jaemin. I guess I’ll talk to you later,” Sicheng responded through gritted teeth. He then smiled for the sake of my friends and walked away, with Taeyong still trailing.

“What was that about?” Jeno wondered out loud.  
I shrugged and turned away from the two of them, so they wouldn’t see my face, which was a dead give away that I did know what was going on. 

“Yeah. The whole thing with Sicheng getting kidnapped was strange,” Renjun commented, looking directly at me.

I gave him a confused look and looked away, feeling uncomfortable. 

For the rest of lunch, I awkwardly looked away from my two friends as they discussed different subjects. When we were dismissed for lunch, I got up to leave, but Renjun rested his arm on my shoulder and cleared his throat.  
“One sec, Jaemin,” Renjun began, leading me away from Jeno and everyone else in the cafeteria. 

“When do you not have soccer practice?” Renjun asked.

I finally displayed my pent up confusion at his question. He had led me away from the cafeteria to ask about my soccer schedule? 

“Um, I have practice today and tomorrow, and Friday, I think. But not Wednesday or Thursday,” I responded.

Renjun processed my answer carefully and seemed to think it over for a minute before clarifying why he had wanted to know.

“So, do you want to come over on Wednesday?” 

Renjun’s casual question took me by surprise. That’s all he wanted? Why was everyone acting so strange? Was my mind playing tricks on me again?

“Um, sure. I’ll ask my parents.”

A weird look passed onto Renjun’s face as I responded. 

“Um, ok,” he said, almost sadly, and then walked away. 

His vague message confused me, and I tried to think of what was so important that he wanted to show me at his house. I tried to convince myself that Renjun just wanted to casually hang out, my mind kept pressing something better. A bunch of theories about Renjun’s request flew into my mind, and I couldn’t keep track of them all. I tried to focus on the long days ahead before I could figure out what Renjun had wanted.


End file.
